How to describe Semyon Varlamov’s goaltending style? Call it the lobster-butterfly.

Like the famous crustacean assuming a defensive posture, the Avalanche goalie hunches low and keeps his left claw, er, glove out there, ready to snap up a loose puck flying through the air. When the puck comes in low, Varlamov employs the classic butterfly style most goalies use today.

However one defines Varlamov’s style, it’s working.

He carries a 4-2-0 record into the first divisional game of the season for the Avs tonight at Calgary, with a 2.41 goals-against average and .929 save percentage.

Varlamov, 23, said his style has changed over the years, mostly from working with Finnish goalie coach Jussi Parkkila. He’s evolved from being more of a stand-up goalie to one who slides quickly from side to side on his pads and uses the butterfly for shots that come in head-on.

“I think his style is more toward the butterfly, where you have to beat him with a good, quality shot,” Avs coach Joe Sacco said. “When I watch him play, his ability to be square to the puck is incredible. He plays big in the net. He makes some saves look effortless, because of his squareness to the puck.

“That’s what I see — squareness to the puck and not overcommitting to the shooter. He lets the shooter try to make the first move. Like that shootout win we had in Chicago, those were three good shooters coming at him, and he didn’t give them much to shoot at.”

The “book” on Varlamov is to shoot high to his glove hand. That may be why he seems to be holding it higher than when he played with the Washington Capitals, though Varlamov doesn’t believe his glove-hand style has changed much.

“Sometimes my glove is higher, but it’s all about the game situation,” Varlamov said. “I think it depends on the situation overall. If I have to go down, I go down, and if I have to stand and not go down, I will too.”

Varlamov has been active in coming out to challenge shooters, cutting down their angles, especially from the half- boards. The drawback to doing that can be vulnerability to crossing passes, but Varlamov moves exceptionally fast on his feet.

“He’s really quick, and he doesn’t give up on pucks,” Avs defender Ryan O’Byrne said. “He’s maybe not as big as some goalies, but he’s so quick and fast and competes so hard. Even in practices, you see that compete level all the time. He doesn’t want to get scored on in practice.”

Avalanche defenseman Shane O’Brien has played in front of two of the best goalies in the NHL — Roberto Luongo with Vancouver and Pekka Rinne in Nashville — and said Varlamov can be in their class.

“He’s not as big as those two, but Varly has a lot of small movements that I didn’t really notice playing against him. He makes these little movements that stop the puck and he swallows up a lot of rebounds,” O’Brien said.

Sacco has been quick to point out to skeptics around the league that Varlamov has “been exactly what we expected when we got him” — a nod at critics who ripped the trade that had the Avs sending first- and second-round draft picks to Washington to get him.

The other knock on Varlamov has been his inability to stay healthy, but the Russian has worked hard on conditioning since joining the Avs.

O’Byrne rooms with Varlamov on the road and describes him as more outgoing than he’d first imagined.

“He’s quiet around the rink, but once you get him one-on- one, he opens up a bit,” O’Byrne said. “At first, I thought it was going to be a quiet room on the road, but we chat and go to dinner and he’s a really good kid.”

Varlamov remains melancholic about the airplane tragedy that took the lives of players on his former Kontinental Hockey League team, Lokomotiv Yaroslavl. He said he thinks about his friends and former teammates often, but knows he has a job to do with the Avs and that it’s beneficial to stay busy, to keep his mind off that terrible September day.

Starting next month, Varlamov will have his mother come from Russia to live with him in Denver, followed by his father a few weeks after that. He said he looks forward to home cooking and companionship, but that he views his teammates as a new family.

“I’ve played with some Russians in the past, who were pretty reserved and kept to themselves,” O’Byrne said. “But he’s been playing in North America for a few years now and is a good guy. He’s one of the boys.”

The “Lobster-Butterfly” is working

Avalanche goalie Semyon Varlamov may look unconventional, but his results have looked good:

Record || GAA || SP

4-2-0 2.41, .929

In wins 2.59, .924

In losses 2.03, .940

Adrian Dater, The Denver Post

Colorado at Calgary

8 p.m. today, ALT, 950 AM

Spotlight on Scott Hannan: After being traded by the Avs to Washington last season for Tomas Fleischmann, the veteran defender signed in the offseason with the Flames. So far, he’s played pretty well, even scoring a rare goal.

Avalanche: Semyon Varlamov will start in goal. . . . This is the first divisional game of the season for Colorado. . . . A win tonight would tie the franchise record for consecutive road victories (seven) set in 1999. . . . Avs center Matt Duchene, who skated on a fourth line Saturday in Chicago, will skate with Chuck Kobasew and Joakim Lindstrom tonight. . . . Avs winger Peter Mueller (head) did not practice Tuesday. The Avs say they have no immediate prognosis for him.

Flames: Left wing Curtis Glencross is questionable with a lower-body injury, likely a groin pull. . . . The Flames outshot opponents 68-43 in the last two games but got only one point to show for it. . . . Flames star winger Jarome Iginla has 486 career goals.

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